Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with The Gilmore Girls; it is all the property of Amy Sherman-Palladino. I do own a few individual characters as well as the plot, but there's really no point in suing me because I don't own anything of value.

Chapter One

Jess sat, staring at the phone. Two long, eventful years had passed since he'd left Stars Hollow, leaving behind two of the only people who had ever cared about him. Now, as he sat in the small living area of his apartment, Jess was contemplating making the call.

However, like every other time, Jess was simply too afraid. He just sat there. He was tired and irritable but no matter how much he tried to convince himself, neither of those were the reason he couldn't - wouldn't - make the call. No, the real reason was fear. Fear that the closest thing he'd ever had to a father would hang up on him.

Jess had wanted to call his uncle for two months now. He had wanted to tell Luke, who hated every child he'd ever met, that he, Jess Mariano, was a father. Yet, he'd been completely gutless. He didn't know what had been holding him back. He'd changed so much since he'd last seen Luke, something he knew would make his uncle proud. He'd changed more since he left Stars Hollow than he had in his entire life and even more since his daughter had been born, two months earlier.

But still, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He kept telling himself he'd do it tomorrow. But like most things with Jess, tomorrow turned into next week, and next week turned into next month and before he knew it, Jess had been living in New York for almost two years, had held a steady and well paid job for almost as long and he'd fathered a beautiful baby girl.

When Anna had been born, Jess' life had truly changed. The moment he'd laid eyes on the blue-eyed, brown-haired girl he'd helped create, his heart was instantly stolen. However, Lucy, his girlfriend hadn't felt the same way. Anna's mother had run off after two days, causing Jess' heart to break for his daughter who would never know her mother. Jess and Anna Mariano were all alone.

Fortunately, a book critic for The New York Times, Jess was able to work from home and take care of Anna. While it had been hard at first, Jess soon learnt to take care of her all by himself, something no one, including himself, would have believed possible just two years before.

Jess sighed and picked up the phone. It was now or never. He wanted his daughter to have a grandfather but Jimmy was not the person for the job; Luke was.

Jess dialled the number he knew so well, almost hanging up each time it rang. A picture of Anna barely a day old on his mantle made him wait for an answer.

"Luke's."

Jess paused, hearing his uncle's voice for the first time in so long.

"Hello?"

Jess quickly pulled himself together.

"H-Hello?"

"Hey, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Luke Danes."

Jess already knew it was Luke but was stumped as to what to say.

"Yeah, this is Luke Danes, who's this?"

"Jess. Jess Mariano."

Jess was met with a deafening silence on the other end of the line.

The next day, Jess double and triple checked Anna was strapped safely into her car seat. He'd packed everything they could possibly need for a two-week stay in Stars Hollow.

Once Luke had recovered from the initial shock, he and Jess had had a long discussion the night before. Jess had asked if he was welcome to come and spend Christmas in Stars Hollow. Luke had agreed, especially when Jess told him he had exciting news to tell him.

That news of course was baby Anna. Jess hadn't felt right telling Luke about it over the phone, he wanted to do it in person. And so here they were, on their way to Stars Hollow. While it wasn't a long trip, Jess still had to stop twice since starting out; once for a feeding and again for a nappy change. By the time Jess parked his car around the corner from Luke's, Anna was awake and contentedly sucking her pacifier.

Jess stood outside the diner, Anna bundled safely and warmly in his arm. Suddenly, he felt like he wanted to be sick. Anna however, didn't seem to care and began squirming in her father's arms. Jess sighed and pushed open the door, the familiar bell jangling as he entered.

Luke was at a table, facing away from Jess, taking someone's order. A middle-aged woman sitting a foot away from Jess suddenly let out a high-pitched laugh, startling him.

However, she seemed to startle Anna even more as she immediately began to wail in Jess' arms. Every head in the diner turned to look at Jess and his daughter, including Luke's.

Jess immediately began to soothe Anna in his arms. Luke just stood there, his mouth slightly open in disbelief. Without waiting for an invitation, Jess bounded up the stairs. He reached the top but found the apartment door locked. Not wanting to go back down, he began to calm Anna down at the top of the landing.

Jess heard footsteps coming up the stairs, making Anna cry even harder. Luke appeared and without a word, unlocked the apartment door, gesturing for Jess to enter. He did so and walked straight to the table, placing Anna's baby bag on it and taking out a full bottle of formula. He silently placed it in the microwave until it was warm before he began to feed Anna. She sucked hungrily at the bottle her tears immediately subsiding.

Luke had followed Jess into the apartment, shutting the door behind him. He still hadn't said a word and was still staring at Jess in disbelief. Jess sighed, realising it would have to be him who broke the silence.

"Luke," he said, making his way over to his uncle. "This is my daughter. Anna."

Luke just stared at Jess, not saying a word. Jess walked over to Luke's bed and arranged the pillows around the edge before placing Anna in the middle for a nap. He sat down at the table across from his uncle, looking at his hands.

"Where's the mother?" Luke asked, breaking the silence.

"She left."

"Jess, you turn up here with a baby after not contacting me for two years, not to mention leaving without saying goodbye. You're gonna have to tell me a lot more if you plan to stay."

Jess sighed. He was never one for talking but knew he owed it to Luke to let him know what had been going on these past two years.

"Where do I start?"

'How bout when you moved to California to be with the father who abandoned you."

Luke was glaring at his nephew. Jess actually saw a glimmer of hurt in his eyes. He'd known that leaving would hurt Luke in ways he couldn't imagine but he would have thought Luke would no longer care; obviously he was wrong.

"I don't know why I went so don't ask me that. I didn't stay long, Jimmy had his own life and I just felt like I was intruding."

"So you left?"

"Yeah, I went back to New York."

"Your mom didn't say anything."

"Well unless Jimmy called her, I doubt she knew."

Jess had refused to look up his mother once he got back to New York. She was a bigger mess than he was and, if he wanted to get his life back on track, he knew she'd be no help to him.

"Okay, so you go to California, visit with your dad," Luke said, ticking them off on his fingers. "Then you go back to New York, don't look up your mother and father an illegitimate child."

"Don't call her that!" Jess demanded, anger flashing across his face. "Look, I came here on my own free will to see you and do you know why?"

"Because you have a kid and you need help."

"No, I came here because I want my kid to have a grandfather. I don't need your help. I have a job, I'm taking a college course and I have an apartment. My daughter is happy and healthy and so am I."

Luke sat there, a stunned look on his face. Jess tried to calm down his breathing a little. He'd raised his voice a bit and, looking over Luke's shoulder, he could see Anna beginning to stir a little. Jess got up from the table and slowly approached her. He stood just looking at her until she began breathing evenly again.

Turning around Jess rolled his eyes at seeing Luke in the exact same position. He took his seat again at the table and, just like before, looked at his hands.

"Did you just say you were taking college classes?" Luke asked sceptically.

Jess merely nodded.

"But you didn't even graduate from high-school."

"I took the G.E.D. When I applied for the job, the guy would only give it to me if I promised to start taking some classes and eventually work my way up to a degree."

"What job?"

"I work for The New York Times," Jess replied, still not looking at his uncle. "I'm a book reviewer."

"How do you find the time to work full time, raise a kid and go to college?"

"I do it by correspondence," he answered. When Luke gave him a blank look, he continued. "It means all my stuff is sent to me. I access my lectures from the Internet so I basically do it from home. The only time I actually have to go anywhere is when I have to take a test. When that happens, my next door neighbour watches Anna."

Again there was silence in the small apartment. Luke seemed to be taking in the information he'd just received. He suddenly got up and quietly walked over to his bed, looking at Anna much the same way Jess had done before.

"How long are you staying?" he asked quietly.

"Two weeks hopefully, if we're welcome."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, still staring at Anna. "I must admit; she is beautiful.

"Cause she's my daughter," Jess replied, smirking.

"I see you haven't changed," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

"So, what's new with you uncle Luke?"

"Don't call me that. Not much really, same old, same old."

Jess nodded and looked around the apartment. It looked very bare. The furniture was all still there but there weren't many other things strewn around as had been the case when Jess had lived there.

"Why is this apartment so bare?" Jess asked. "I didn't have that much stuff."

"Ah well…" Luke trailed off, refusing to look at Jess.

"What?" Jess asked, a wicked grin forming on his face.

"I live with Lorelai, okay?"

Jess couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing. His laughter increased when Luke began to blush.

"Shut up," Luke demanded.

Jess just continued laughing. Luke turned on his heel and stalked out of the apartment, back down to the diner. However, Jess continued to laugh until Anna began to whimper from the noise.

"Shhh," Jess whispered, cradling her in his arms. "It's okay, daddy's here. You're going to meet uncle Luke soon. You'll like him. Come on, shhhhh."

Anna calmed down and Jess decided to take her downstairs. He carefully placed her head over his shoulder and made his way into the diner. Luke was serving someone but looked up when Jess descended. He glared at his nephew and went back to what he was doing.

Jess took a seat at the counter, still holding Anna. Luke came behind the counter and stood directly in front of them.

"Think you can give me a hand now that you're here? You're more than welcome to stay upstairs but I'd like a hand."

"Sure," Jess said, shrugging. "Here, hold Anna."

"What? No!"

"Luke, I have to go and get her car seat from the car and it's freezing out. Hold her for one minute; I'll be straight back. She's not going to hurt you."

Still glaring at Jess, Luke took Anna carefully. He cradled her in his arms, looking into her eyes with a slight smile.

Jess chuckled and exited the diner. He walked around the corner and took the car seat from the back of his car, locking it back up again. After Anna had been born Jess had blown all of his savings to buy a more reliable and safer car. While he didn't usually need one in New York, he didn't like exposing his daughter to the disgusting conditions of a New York cab.

"Excuse me sir," came a voice from behind him. "You can't park there, this parking spot belongs to Luke Danes."

Jess sighed. He knew whom that voice belonged to. He'd spent a long time thinking up ways to torment this man and then carrying them out. It was Taylor Doose. Jess turned around and Taylor's mouth dropped open.

"You," he whispered.

"You're such a drama queen, Taylor," Jess said, rolling his eyes.

Taylor glared at Jess and stalked off, no doubt into the diner to berate Luke. Jess just laughed and made his way back inside. Sure enough, Taylor was yelling at Luke, who still had Anna in his arms.

"Taylor, would you put a sock in it, look, you've made her cry."

Anna was waling and, much to Jess' surprise, Luke began to calm her down, speaking soft, soothing words to her.

"Whose child is this?" Taylor demanded.

No one answered. Jess stepped forward, looking Taylor square in the eye.

"You reproduced?"

"I did indeed. I've decided to move back to Stars Hollow and raise my daughter to terrorise the town too."

Taylor's eyes widened before he bustled out of the store, muttering incoherently. Jess just chuckled and took his now calm daughter from Luke and placed her into her car seat.

"By the way," Luke said nervously. "I just spoke to Lorelai, would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Luke," Jess said, "Lorelai hates me."

"Trust me, when she sees her," he said, pointing at Anna, "she'll invite you to move in."

"Now there's a scary thought."